


The Way To His Heart

by sleepy_sendhelp



Series: The Sixth Love Language [1]
Category: The Infernal Devices Series - Cassandra Clare, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Fluff, I wrote this instead of studying, Jealous Jem, Jealousy, M/M, mundane! AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-02
Updated: 2020-09-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:40:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26251309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleepy_sendhelp/pseuds/sleepy_sendhelp
Summary: “Jealousy is an adorable look on you!” Tessa gushed.“I am not jealous.” He stated for what felt like a hundredth time in the span of two minutes since his friend arrived.or heronstairs roommate au + “the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach”
Relationships: Jem Carstairs & Tessa Gray, Jem Carstairs/Will Herondale
Series: The Sixth Love Language [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1907059
Kudos: 41





	The Way To His Heart

**Author's Note:**

> So… I’m starting a new series even though I’m in the middle of writing my herongraystairs multichap au on my other series. bUT! In my defense I couldn’t sleep until I wrote all my prompts for this series down (presently, there are 32 prompts) so… get ready for some fluffy food-related stories! This won’t just be for the TID gang, it’ll be for all the TSC characters which is always fun!

James Carstairs was not a violent person. He wasn’t grumpy, didn’t irritate easy, and he usually didn’t go about his day physically holding back the urge to strangle a certain strawberry blond named Oliver. 

The past two weeks had been very transformative for his character. 

“Jealousy is an adorable look on you!” Tessa gushed as she leaned closer to cup his face. She proceeded to knead and squish Jem’s cheeks which wiped the the crease from between his eyebrows. He released a heavy breath through his nose. Tessa withdrew her hands, but not her statement. 

“I am not jealous.” He stated for what felt like a hundredth time in the span of two minutes since his friend arrived. 

“Is that your final answer?” Tessa made a show of looking around the messy kitchen. An unusual sight. 

“You don’t even know what happened.” He rolled his eyes. 

“So tell me.” She prompted, propping her chin above both hands as she settled down on the kitchen island. 

Jem heaved a heavy sigh. 

It started a few weeks ago. Will didn’t take the lunch that Jem prepared for him, a thing that has never happened in the past three years of their cohabitation. He was already gone for work by the time that Jem woke up, and he chalked it up to maybe forgetting about it because he might have been in a hurry to work. Will may naturally be an early riser, but he needed a half hour before being able to move out of his bed. Maybe it caught up to him. Maybe. 

After four days in a row, he cornered Will. 

“Why haven’t you been taking the food I made?” he had demanded. Will had the nerve to look sheepish. Jem ignored the way his heart pounded. He dismissed it as nerves, he never really liked confrontation. 

“Someone’s been cooking for me. I’m sorry I forgot to tell you.” And he did look apologetic, so much so that Jem’s vexation evaporated in an instant. 

“So… you don’t want me to prepare your lunch anymore?” Jem felt hollow and weighed down at the same time. He smoothed out his features and kept his voice even. 

“Yeah,” a single word seemed to draw an opaque curtain between them. “guess I won’t have to bother you anymore.” He said weakly, eyeing his longtime friend and his precarious state. Jem couldn’t be bothered to fake a laugh, he entered his room with jerky movements. 

He crumpled and tossed away the short thank you note on his door the following morning (then proceeded to dig it out of the trash and keep it at the pocket of his violin case).

One less packed lunches soon turned into dinners and movie nights for one at the flat. The place had never felt so empty. Even Church was disoriented. Jem knew the cat would never admit it, but he knew he missed the way Will noisily moved about the house to drive both cat and owner up the wall just because he can. 

The weekend brunches were less relaxing. How can Jem unwind when all he’d hear about was how great Oliver is? How good his food was, how sweet he was, blah blah blah. Jem loved hearing Will talk about anything and everything. He especially loved it when Will read aloud. He always paid attention whenever Will said anything at all. A syllable, a phrase, sometimes even a short hum would be enough to leave him giddy for the rest of the day. Lately though, his voice became grating, and Jem found himself constantly gritting his teeth —- having to consciously remind himself to unclench his jaw lest he break something. 

The insufferable weekend brunches happened few and far in between then. Sure, they happened, but they happened with stupid Oliver. Then, they happened without Jem. He’d wake up alone on his flat when weekends came. The constant delight in everyone’s life that was James Carstairs became a hothead who unknowingly gave everyone the cold shoulder. It only made his misery worse. 

That was until he’d stopped brooding long enough to give Tessa a call. 

Tessa, who’s got an eyebrow raised. Unimpressed. 

“You’re jealous.” She deadpanned. Jem unstuck his forehead from the cool surface of the island. She shoved a spoonful of Nutella in his mouth before he could speak. She laughed a little as his eyes crossed. 

“You’re also cleaning up this kitchen, while thinking about what you’d just said.” He pulled the spoon out and started cleaning. Tessa propped her feet up. When he finally swallowed the chocolate, Tessa spoke again. 

“It’s okay to admit that you’ve been in love with Will for an indefinite amount of time you know? It was bound to happen, now embrace it.” she said breezily, dipping her finger in the batter and licking it off. Jem frowned as cleared out the counters and the rags. 

“I’m not in love with Will, he has poor taste in people and it irritates me.” Jem plopped down across her once again. 

“Is that so?” 

“Yes!” His hands flew up in exasperation. “Oliver this, Oliver that. He must have poisoned Will’s tastebuds because I tried his truffle pasta. It was trash pasta Tessa, trash pasta.” She dissolved into a fit of giggles as his tirade became incoherent grumbling. He sighed once more.

“This isn’t like one of your fanfictions Tessa.” 

“Yes it is.” She met his eyes. 

“Besides the fact that you’re roommates,” she did a little shimmy, Jem snickered. “you also work well together. Also, I don’t think it’s common for flatmates, who spend everyday together, to have weekly brunches.” Jem started sputtering. Tessa held a hand up. 

“You’re also way too attached for all of this,” she gestured at all the food he cooked, neatly packed away in containers. “to just be about the food.” That shut him up. 

“I miss my best friend, that’s all.” He muttered lowly, avoiding her eyes. 

“I know you Jem. You may seem gentle, but you don’t take shit. If you missed your best friend you would’ve easily told him weeks ago. Why do you think you’re making such a big deal out of it?” Tessa was stern, but he heard the underlying concern behind the tone. He tugged on his collar as his shoulders sagged. 

“I’m sorry I’ve been a jerk for the past few weeks.” He tore his gaze from the floor when he heard a snort. 

“You weren’t a jerk. You had emotions and you mooned over it, all you did was pout the entire week and zone out of conversations. I’d hardly count that as being a jerk.” She looked at him fondly and for a second he felt like everything would find its place. 

He made his was over to her and crushed her between the arms. She grunted, but returned the hug nonetheless.

————————————————————————

Jem blew air out, directing it upwards so his long hair flew out of his face. He should probably have it cut soon. 

First, he needed to calm down. He closed his eyes and rested his cheek on the cool surface of the counter, committing to memory the image of Will —— bathed in the afternoon sun and miraculously alone, seated at the couch typing away at his laptop, reading glasses perched on his nose. He had an early day off work and wore nothing but sweatpants. His bowed head of inky black hair wasn’t soaked in product, so it scrunched up in gentle waves, a few strands falling in front of his face. Jem shoved his hands in the oven mitts, barely resisting coming over there to tuck the stray pieces behind his ear. 

A shrill ringing had him jerking awake. He swore as he turned the timer off, and hurried to the oven. The gentle pressure on his chest turned heavy as admiration gave way to frustration. 

Will looked up. He frowned. Jem chucked the baking trays as he pulled them out of the oven, he took one look at the cookies and a new round of swearing began. He decided it was time to intervene when the swearing devolved to muttering and throwing the cookies in the trash. 

“Hey, hey, hey” he took hold of Jem’s forearms. Jem froze, it seemed to do the trick. The wariness in his friend’s eyes unnerved him, but Will trudged on. 

“Why are you throwing the cookies away?” He reached for one of them. Chocolate chip. It got slapped out of his hands before he could take a bite. 

He barely registered the sting on his hand, opting instead to gape at Jem. He continued picking the cookies up, but Will took hold of his arms again. He shot him an expectant look and didn’t relent until Jem slouched further. 

“I forgot the butter.” His lips were pursed, and he was squeezing his eyes shut. The sight tugged at his chest. Will’s hands slipped upward, he rubbed Jem’s biceps, comforting him as best as he could. He didn’t hear his breath catch. 

“It’s okay.” Will softly repeated over, and over, Jem shook his head as his shoulders trembled. Will cradled his head, stroking his hair and drawing circles on his back until all the tension seeped out of Jem. He didn’t know what was wrong, but his heart went out for the man clinging on to him.

“Baby, can you tell me what’s wrong?” he whispered into his hair. This time he heard the sharp inhale. 

“Butter.” Jem whimpered. He burrowed further into Will’s chest, refusing to meet his eyes. 

“I don’t think so. You can tell me the truth.” A gentle kiss on the temple was all it took. Jem sniffled, fingers digging at Will’s back. 

“I love you.” 

He held him tighter, his heart skipped a beat. 

“I love you too.” His smile vanished when he felt Jem shake his head. 

“I’m in lo-love with you, and you’re with s-stupid Oliver and I hate it—“ Will frowned and and tilted Jem’s head so he can look at him. 

“I’m not with Oliver.” The short statement halted Jem’s teary blubbering. 

“Yes you are.” He swiped at his face harshly. Will took his hands in his and delicately wiped the tears away himself. He leaned forward and trapped Jem between the island. 

“I’m not.” 

“But he cooks for you. You have dinners and brunch together.” His brows creased. His stare was fixed on to Will’s stomach. The crying meant that his face was warm, hopefully warm enough to not alert Will of his increasingly heating face. 

“Yeah, it was for work.” He said slowly. Jem tensed. 

“No.” He passed a hand down his face, muttering ‘no, no, no, no,’ until it all blended together. Will couldn’t stop the grin that threatened to split his face. 

“We’re you jealous?” He would’ve been fooled by Jem’s relaxed demeanor, if not for the way he felt his pulse skittering with nerves. They were pressed together, sharing the same breath, and Will saw the way his pupils blew wide open. 

“No.” He replied coolly, but Will wasn’t fooled. Not this time. He pressed on Jem’s arms to stop them from crossing. 

He ran a thumb over Jem’s bottom lip. He felt him shiver from the contact. Searching for permission, he started leaning back but Jem didn’t let him. 

Their lips met. A firm kiss that told more than words can say. It took Will’s breath away, but he still had unfinished business. He broke the kiss. 

“You are the best cook ever.” He punctuated each word with a kiss. On the forehead, on the nose, the chin, each of his cheeks, and finally his lips. Jem huffed, the corner of his mouth quirking upward. 

Will swiped the last dry cookie standing. He bit into it, moaning loudly as the dry crumbs fell from his mouth. 

“It’s so good.” Pieces of food flew everywhere. In an instant, the atmosphere shifted from intimate to lighthearted. Jem wheezed and made his way to the couch. 

“I’m serious! It’s so—“ He heard choking and quickly turned around to slap Will’s back so he could cough out the cookies. He filled a glass with water and held it against his mouth. Will swallowed greedily, causing another bout of choking. 

“Will!” he couldn’t help exclaiming. Said man looked up at him with watery eyes and a silly smile. 

“You do love me.” He croaked. Jem carded his fingers through his hair, chuckling softly at Will’s antics. 

“Never doubt it.”


End file.
